Some
modern organizations and philosophers claim morality means parents should avoid
or limit having children for the good of society. What does the Bible say?Some
modern organizations and philosophers claim morality means parents should avoid
or limit having children for the good of society. What does the Bible say?An organization named “Stop Having Kids” urges parents not to have children. Their website is stophavingkids.org. What does the Bible say?
Travis Rieder, Ph.D., published an article with this headline: “Science proves kids are bad for Earth. Morality suggests we stop having them.” * The article itself backs off somewhat yet says:
“…According to this view, having a child is a major contributor to climate change. The logical takeaway here is that everyone on Earth ought to consider having fewer children. …Consider a different case: If I release a murderer from prison, knowing full well that he intends to kill innocent people, then I bear some responsibility for those deaths … Something similar is true, I think, when it comes to having children … If you buy this view of responsibility, you might eventually admit that having many children is wrong, or at least morally suspect … I am certainly not arguing that we should shame parents ... But that does not mean we’re off the moral hook. …
So he says he is not trying to shame parents for having children; he just compares them to someone who releases a murderer into society knowing he will kill innocent people! Unfortunately, such views are increasingly common based on modern human opinions.
Regardless of your opinion about climate change, we would all have to agree that, if everyone in the world stopped having children, it would not be long until people would not need to be concerned about climate change or any other problem!
We should also agree that parents may have good reasons to use morally legitimate means to limit their number of children: financial concerns, health issues, etc. But the question is whether people have the right to imply that parents, in general, are immoral because they do not choose to limit their number of children according to other people’s opinions.
Genesis 1:28 – From creation God commanded people to multiply and fill the earth. Some may say this command has been fairly well obeyed, but that would be a matter of opinion. In the face of a Divine command to reproduce, it would be hard to accuse those who have children of being immoral because they do not bow to human opinion.
Psalm 128:3,4 – Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine in the very heart of your house, your children like olive plants all around your table. Behold, thus shall the man be blessed who fears the Lord.
Psalm 127:3-5 – Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward. … Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them; they shall not be ashamed, but shall speak with their enemies in the gate.
So God says children are a reward from the Lord. Those who have them should not be ashamed, yet those who hold the view expressed in the article clearly imply it is a shame.
Psalm 113:9 – He grants the barren woman a home, like a joyful mother of children. Praise the Lord! Godly women throughout the Bible viewed barrenness as a cause for grief, but having children is a reason to praise the Lord.
1 Timothy 5:10 lists good works for a woman including that she has brought up children.
1 Timothy 5:14 urges younger widows to marry and bear children. This gives no opportunity to the adversary to speak reproachfully. Yet the adversaries who share the view expressed in this article speak very reproachfully of those who have children.
The author compares having children to releasing a murderer into society. Yet most people who share such views rarely oppose abortion, which really does murder children (Genesis 25:21,22; Luke 1:36,41,44). Until recently, Communist China often forced women to have abortions to limit population growth for the very kinds of reasons defended in the article.
So as usual, those who reject the Bible and follow human opinions end up calling evil good and good evil. The people of God, however, do not conform to this world but are transformed by renewing their minds (Romans 12:2).
(c) Copyright David E. Pratte, 2022; gospelway.com
Local churches and individuals may, within limits, distribute this Bible study guide for free, but not for sale. Web sites may link to this page but not reproduce it. Click here for more information about our copyright guidelines.
Please bookmark our site in your favorites.
We welcome links to us from other sites :
gospelway.com
- The Gospel Way: Free Bible Study Materials & Guides
Scripture quotations are generally from the New King James Version (NKJV), copyright 1982, 1988 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. used by permission. All rights reserved.